Day 5: “Hawaii”

Today was a special day: my birthday.

As always, the day began with a fantastic breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

The buffet was always beautifully arranged and varied, with something for everyone.

For today, we had originally planned another boat tour with swimming stops. So we made our way to Budva to look for suitable options at the harbor.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. We did find an interesting tour, but we would have had to wait two hours.

So we decided to explore the old town a bit and buy some souvenirs.

In a cozy café, we enjoyed cold drinks and made the most of this unexpected opportunity to spend more time in this gorgeous city.

When we finally returned to the boat, we were told that the tour had to be canceled due to a strong storm out on the open sea.

We were terribly disappointed but eventually discovered boats offering trips to an offshore island that locals call “Hawaii.”

A boat would take us to the island, where we could stay for several hours, explore, and swim in the sea.

We liked the idea so much that we didn’t hesitate and booked immediately.

Only five minutes later, we were on our way—and this day would become one of the best of the entire holiday.

The sea was indeed much rougher than it had appeared from the harbor. Still, the crossing was very nice, and after just ten minutes we reached the beautiful island.

The island itself is quite rocky, but it also has several pleasant beaches, all of them pebble beaches.

On the side facing the mainland, the beach was very crowded, and there were no free sunbeds. On this side, you could barely feel the storm—no wonder most visitors were here.

Of course, we also jumped straight into the water.

Soon, hunger caught up with us. The island has a large restaurant and a bar.

We were lucky to find a table right by the water. We ordered our food, which was okay but nothing special—monopolies often harm quality, unfortunately!

Later, we moved to the other side of the island, where the storm was truly strong. Only a few people dared to enter the water there, but that didn’t stop us.

It was difficult to get into the sea without being knocked over several times by the heavy waves. The current was incredibly strong.

The water itself was refreshingly cool, and the swim felt wonderful. It was exhausting to fight the strong current, but that only made it more interesting and challenging—the way I like it.

At the bar, we treated ourselves to delicious cocktails after swimming and enjoyed the view of the sea, where high waves crashed against jagged rocks.

We spent many hours on this wonderful island. Then it was time to head back.

The return journey was just as stormy as the outward trip, but soon we reached the mainland again.

We drove straight back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

For my birthday, we had decided to dine at a very well-rated fish restaurant.

We ordered a fish platter, salads, and regional wine—which was delicious.

The meal was an absolute dream!

Afterward, we strolled along the promenade again, and in a small boutique, I received a lovely yellow handbag for my birthday—the one I had fallen in love with on the very first day.

This day was one of the best of the entire holiday and one of my most beautiful birthdays.